You never actually own a Patek Philippe

You merely look after it for the next generation. With this slogan, Patek Philippe seduces you to take the plunge on one of their magnificent watches. It creates some kind of justification to spend a tremendous amount of money on one time piece that could have bought you half a dozen other Swiss quality watches.

One of my favorites is the Patek Philippe Nautilus (ref.5711/1A) in its purest form: stainless steel and with hours, minutes and date only. However, Patek Philippe also manufacturers the 5712/1A, which is basically the same watch in terms of design or look & feel, but it features a moon phase, date and power reserve indicator. These complications make it the ultimate luxury sports watch.

Although purists may find this dial lay-out way too crowded, it does save them from buying the ‘regular’ 5711/1A model and buy another Patek Philippe with complication to go along with it. 🙂 To a certain point, I will call myself a purist when it comes to watches, but I would be able to live with the 5712/1A and pass it on to the next generation when time has come.

Henrik over at SubGMT is a Rolex specialist, both new & vintage models. At only very rare moments he has another brand in stock. Today, it is this Patek Philippe 5712/1A he was willing to make an exception for. On his website, he writes Although it is not a Rolex, it is a pretty nice watch. Now that’s the spirit of a well-educated Rolex specialist. Only make exceptions for things that are worth making exceptions for.

The Patek Philippe Nautilus 5712/1A has a self-winding movement with a 22 carat gold micro rotor. Despite the small diameter of the rotor – see the photo below – the use of 22 carat gold makes sure it has enough mass to do a proper job on winding the movement. The caliber 240 movement is only 31mm in diameter and a height of only 3.98mm, for a complicated movement, that’s stunning.

This particular watch is stamped September 2009 at an authorized Patek Philippe dealer in Germany and is in “like new” condition. The watch comes – of course – with all the proper documentation and warranty papers. The Patek Philippe serial number gives you the right to subscribe to their in-house magazine which covers all topics, from cultural stuff to the latest Patek Philippe watches.

This Nautilus has a diameter of 40mm and water resistant to 60 meters. In fact, this just means that this watch can handle a splash or shower and at least doesn’t let dust gets a chance to get inside the watch case. Don’t even think about going for a swim with this watch, as if it only were to prevent the carefully polished and brushed case and bracelet from scratching.